At Texas’s La Porte Independent School District, Superintendent Dr. Walter Jackson doesn’t want to be recognized for leadership, but for being a gentle, kind soul.
“I only set out to do this work because I felt a deep calling in my life to lead, to listen, to love and to learn with the people with whom I have given custodial care,” Jackson says.
Part of that work includes being visible throughout his schools every day, ensuring each of his 7,200 students has a personal connection with their superintendent. He calls it “leading by loving the people.”
“I was in buildings this morning with some board members—we call them ‘board walks,'” he says. “Each week, I’ll take a board member or two and we’ll just walk through campuses to send a message to the community and the teachers that we care about what they’re doing each day.”
Industry immersion in their own backyard
Jackson says there’s a breadth of career-related opportunities available to students, reflecting on his strong relationships with the district’s numerous community partners.
For instance, Jackson funded a Partners in Education office, which connects businesses and organizations with schools to equip students with career-related skills.
“The second person that I hired in this district was Terri Cook to be my Partners in Education coordinator,” he explains. “She has helped me single-handedly reach out to more than 200 businesses and corporations, many of which are writing checks to our students.”
Jackson intends to build a program that welcomes business partners to support the school system. The district has a great relationship with the local chamber of commerce, for which he serves on the board of directors. He’s also a member of the local Rotary Club.
“STEM, CTE, robotics, you name it, are all a major focus for us because they’re in our backyard,” he says. “Most of our kids are going to Rice, Harvard, the University of Houston, Texas and Florida. But we also have opportunities for kids to graduate from high school with an associate’s degree and can go straight into the workforce.”
Setting priorities
Jackson says that he’s pushing hard to ensure the district meets the demands of every child.
“I tell my team daily, ‘Kids get one time to be in school,’ and that’s my mantra,” he says. “We’d better make it good.”
That means teaching students to be productive citizens who are civically minded and honest Americans.
His relationships with parents and families also play a critical role in student outcomes. Once a month, he invites the superintendent’s advisory council, which consists of the district’s teachers of the year and the PTO liaison, to join him for dinner in the central office after school.
There’s no agenda or topic of discussion. Instead, the council tells Jackson what they’re hearing from parents, teachers and other stakeholders.
“There are no deputy superintendents in that meeting,” he explains. “There are no executive directors. Only Adam Holland, my director of communications and community relations, and I. They tell me exactly what they think about their school, what’s working, what’s not working, and what they want to see more of.”
Similarly, he hosts the same event for his student advisory council, which comprises 25 of the most vocal students who reflect the concerns of the student body generally.
Another unique aspect of his leadership is his open-door policy. Whether it’s an employee or a parent, Jackson invites them to knock on his door and gives them 30 minutes, uninterrupted.
“We have a cup of coffee. We sit down and they get to tell me anything they want to tell me,” he says.
“I shepherd this school district,” Jackson adds. “I’ve been here six years, and you’ll see notes hanging in classrooms that I wrote to teachers five years ago, recognizing them for something they did. To see those plastered all over the school district is really the culminating event of my career.”
